Chapter
047
2007 -- H 5486
Enacted 06/15/07
A N A C T
RELATING TO
COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- PURCHASE AND SALE OF
PRECIOUS METALS
Introduced By: Representatives Serpa, Kilmartin, Melo, Moffitt, and Sullivan
Date Introduced: February
27, 2007
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 6-11.1-1 and 6-11.1-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 6-11.1
entitled
"Purchase and Sale of Precious Metals" are hereby amended to read as
follows:
6-11.1-1.
License required -- "Person" defined. -- (a) No person,
including a
pawnbroker,
and consignment shop or second hand dealer, as defined in section
5-21-1, shall
engage
in the business of buying or receiving for the purpose of selling gold, silver,
platinum
group
metals, or precious stones, or any articles containing those items, other than
coins
purchased
for their numismatic value rather than their metal content, referred to in this
chapter as
"precious
metals," from the general public for the purpose of reselling the precious
metals in any
condition
without first obtaining a license from the attorney general of the state of
Rhode Island,
also
called "the attorney general" in this chapter. The attorney general
shall not issue any license
to a
person who has not registered a permanent place of business within the state
for the purchase
or sale
of precious metals. The criteria for determining a person's permanent place of
business
shall be
formulated by the attorney general immediately on or after July 1, 1981.
(b) The word "person," when used in this chapter, shall include
individuals, partnerships,
associations,
and corporations.
(c) This chapter shall not apply to any financial institution which is covered
by federal or
state
deposit insurance, nor to jewelry and silverware manufacturers purchasing
precious metals
directly
from trade suppliers.
6-11.1-5.
Seven day holding period -- Recovery of stolen property -- Return to
rightful
owner. – Fourteen day
holding period – Recovery of stolen property – Return to
rightful
owner. -- (a) All persons
licensed under this chapter shall retain in their possession in an
unaltered
condition for a period of seven (7) fourteen (14) days all
precious metals or articles
made
from or containing a precious metal except items of bullion, including coins,
bars, and
medallions,
which do not contain serial numbers or other identifying marks. The seven
(7)
fourteen
(14) day holding period shall
commence with the date the report of its acquisition was
delivered
to or received through the mails by the chief of police or the attorney
general,
whichever
is later. The records so received by the chief of police and the attorney
general shall be
available
for inspection only by law enforcement officers for law enforcement purposes.
If the
chief of
police has probable cause that precious metals or an article made from or
containing a
precious
metal has been stolen, he or she may give notice, in writing, to the person
licensed, to
retain
the metal or article for an additional period of fifteen (15) days, and the
person shall retain
the
property for this additional fifteen (15) day period, unless the notice is
recalled, in writing,
within
the fifteen (15) day period; within the fifteen (15) day period the chief of
police, or his or
her
designee, shall designate, in writing, an officer to secure the property
alleged to be stolen and
the
persons in possession of the property shall deliver the property to the officer
upon display of
the
officer's written designation by the chief of police or his or her designee.
Upon receipt of the
property
from the officer, the clerk or person in charge of the storage of alleged
stolen property
for a
police department shall enter into a book a description of every article of
property alleged to
be
stolen which was brought to the police department and shall attach a number to
each article.
The
clerk or person in charge of the storage of alleged stolen property shall
deliver the property to
the
owner of the property upon satisfactory proof of ownership, without any cost to
the owner,
provided
that the following steps are followed:
(1) A complete photographic record of the property is made;
(2) A signed declaration of ownership under penalty of perjury is obtained from
the
person
to whom the property is delivered;
(3) The person from whom the custody of the property was taken is served with
written
notice
of the claim of ownership and is given ten (10) days from the mailing of the
notice to file a
petition
in district court objecting to the delivery of the property to the person
claiming
ownership.
If a petition is filed in a timely manner, the district court shall at a
hearing determine
by a
preponderance of the evidence that the property was stolen and that the person
claiming
ownership
of the property is the true owner. The decision of the district court may only
be
appealable
by writ of certiorari to the supreme court.
(b) The clerk or person in charge of the storage of alleged stolen property
shall not be
liable
for damages for any official act performed in good faith in the course of
carrying out the
provisions
of this section. The photographic record of the alleged stolen property shall
be allowed
to be
introduced as evidence in any court of this state in place of the actual
alleged stolen
property;
provided that the clerk in charge of the storage of the alleged stolen property
shall take
photographs
of the property, and those photographs shall be tagged and marked and remain in
his
possession
or control.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00965
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